BBC Radio 1 was thrown into flux when their head of music George Ergatoudis announced in December that he was leaving the radio station to Spotify to head a new music division in the UK. The search for his replacement has ended and BBC has chosen former head of music for Last.fm Chris Price to take the same position at BBC Radio 1 & 1xtra.
"Chris brings unparalleled experience across music radio, TV and digital broadcasting to BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra, says Ben Cooper, Controller of Radio 1 & 1xtra in a statement. "His passion and knowledge is key to our future plans for young audiences to continue to discover the music they will love. I'm delighted to welcome him to the team."
Before Last.fm, Price held a variety of different jobs throughout the music industry. He worked at major labels like Sony and Warner, while also holding other positions at MTV, BT and even Radio 1.
"Radio 1 & 1Xtra's Head of Music is the greatest music discovery job on the planet," says Price enthusiastically about his new position. "I'm thrilled to be joining the BBC to continue the incredible work it does breaking new music, as well as steering the networks' music strategy into the next phase of its digital future."
He will start his new role in March once Ergatoudis steps down after holding the same position for 10 years. Price will have a lot of creative control over the stations, with the ability to help break new artists and deliver content to youth across the UK and around the world who tune in online. He will face challenges of increased digitization online and trying to deliver more content with smaller budgets.
